Cannabis now being used to treat severe drug addiction; Medical marijuana company AusCann ready to expand

A marijuana plant is seen at Tweed Marijuana Inc in Smith's Falls, Ontario, Canada, March 19, 2014.
Reuters/Blair Gable

Cannabis can be used as part of harm reduction techniques for treating severe addiction to other drugs. Thus, a coke or a heroin addict can be healed over time using marijuana. Harm reduction is a strategy wherein addicts are treated with acceptance rather than abstinence. The strategy involves a friendlier and a less disciplined approach to reduce drug use in people who are simply unwilling to quit.

This is naturally followed by an overall decrease in the numerous negative consequences of drug use. Numerous countries are slowly embracing the idea of harm reduction. Policies are being designed to help people live a better and healthier life. Addiction specialists are also taking up this program and working towards this end. Program director and founder of Los-Angeles based High Sobriety, Joe Schrank, uses medical marijuana as detox and maintenance protocol for people with severe addictions.

As there is no lethal dose for cannabis, it can be very helpful in treating certain conditions. This method could be challenged by experts who believe that people check into rehabs to get off drugs. In this method, pacing is mighty important. While some patients wean themselves off drugs over time and move into abstinence, there are many who simply want to maintain sobriety from a drug using a less harsher one such as cannabis. Schrank uses his cannabis detox and maintenance protocol for those addicted to crack cocaine and other opiods.

Marijuana can also be effective in pain management and other health issues. It is now being used to study the reversal of heroin’s damage. Crack users are also being treated with cannabis as part of the harm reduction techniques, reports CNN. Meanwhile at Down Under, medicinal cannabis company AusCann $10 million of new equity for supporting its Australian expansion plans. The company has been approved by the Federal Government to establish an outdoor cultivation facility in WA.

AusCann was granted the license to grow medical marijuana by the Office of Drug Control. It is one of the few companies to be given such an approval in Australia. AusCann will be importing medicinal cannabis from Chile till the time its cultivation facility produces the first crop. The new fund will help in the manufacture of marijuana medicines in Australia for Australian patients. This will be done in collaboration with TasAlk, the leading manufacturer of opiate ingredients for pain medicines worldwide.

“AusCann will be providing all of the IP and know how around optimal cannabis strains and manufacturing from its exclusive partnership with Canopy, the largest cannabis grower in North America with over 45,000 patients,” the fact sheet read, reports The West Australian.